A big deal is being made over the large percentage of California voters who’ve opted to use the vote-by-mail ballots. While right-wing efforts in other states are focused on Voter ID laws and other variants of Jim Crow, the don’t vote effort here on the left coast is focused on spreading doubt about the reliability of the mail in system.

A mistake in mailing out ballots in Sacramento becomes evidence of a state-wide “glitch ridden ballot system”, according to Breitbart.com. Their “concern” is sooo touching. They’d like you to be afraid of mail-in voting, mostly because they’re afraid that other-than-Republican voters are discovering how easy it can be to use.

Sadly, a disturbing large percentage of those ballots will be left out of the count because people never got around to filling them out. If you’re one of those people who’ve put off filling out your ballot, here’s a handy-dandy cheat sheet designed to help you vote in ways that really will scare the hell of the Breitbart types.

Two things to remember:

You can drop off your mail in ballot at locations all over the county through Monday. Those locations are accepting ballots during their regular business hours.

You do NOT have to fill out the entire ballot. Don’t know who those judges are? Don’t vote for them. (Except to vote against Ken Gosselin for Superior Court Judge)

Symbols Guide:

Endorsed by the OB Ragand San Diego Free Press Endorsed by Democratic Party Critical Contest Please don’t vote for this foolStatewide Races– Hyperlinked sub-heads lead to articles on this topic

Big public works funding is complicated and necessitates building coalitions (which you get by promising a piece of the action) that are extraordinary in nature. I’ve concluded this is a question of perfect being the enemy of the “meh”.

Everybody who’s anybody in the political establishment loves Proposition 2. Both political parties, both gubernatorial candidates, Chamber(s) of Commerce, the League of Women Voters of California, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, several large unions and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association have all endorsed it.

I think people should be able to sue for more money for pain and suffering. Doctors should have to cross check prescriptions for controlled substances. The medical profession needs a lot of policing, including a stringent (non-peer) review process. (not covered in this measure)

If “Yes on 47? passes, California will be the first state to end felony sentencing for drug possession and petty theft crimes. This would permanently reduce incarcerations and shift one billion dollars, over the next five years, from state corrections to K-12 school programs and mental health and drug treatment. I love the sound of that. And it’s about time we get our minds off punishing people and focus on helping them become better human beings.

As much as Republicans would like to trash California’s economy, the general public knows things are better now than they were four years ago. The incumbent Governor has zigzagged his way across the political landscape to the distress of some Democrats and most of the Republican hierarchy.

The former mayor of San Francisco is considered a rising star in Democratic politics. Newsome has had his differences with Jerry Brown; I’d say he runs just a tad to the left of the governor. Gavin is also a pragmatist, working the political system with an eye towards future elections.

Long time Republican activist Ron Nehring is more socially conservative than Neel Kashkari, but they’re both campaigning on the premise that California’s economy would be just so much better with them in charge.

He’s considered one of the Latino rising stars in politics. Given that one of the most important things this position does is handling the registration of voters, it would seem to be the smart thing to do to have somebody who’s promising to increase access to voter registration materials, including via the expanded use of social media.

Peterson seems to be the favorite of many of the State’s newspaper editorial boards in that he is a) Republican and b) actually qualified. I guess they’re concerned with maintaining the illusion of a two party system in California.

She defeated Assemblyman John A. Pérez in the June primary, a Democrat who many assumed was the party’s likely candidate. Yee’s speech before the California Democratic convention calling upon the party to be true to its ideals and not a handmaiden for corporate interests has made her a darling of progressives throughout the state.

It seems as though Swearengin’s track record as mayor has been given a pass. The city’s broke, unemployment’s so high that Neel Kashkari chose Fresno for his homeless for a week stunt, and her penchant for secrecy doesn’t seem to bother those who think a token Republican in Sacramento would be a good thing.

Chiang’s making the move over from the Controller’s office, where his tenacity in challenging political/economic assumptions from both the executive and legislative branches has given him a solid reputation as a competent manager. When the San Francisco Bay Guardian and UT-San Diego agree on a candidate he must be doing something right.

He’s a private practice attorney who served as a Deputy Attorney General four decades ago. His campaign site says “the legalization of marijuana is an issue whose time has come.” And that position is just about the only traction Ronald Gold has been able to come up with against Harris, whose campaigning style in this election is not that different than Jerry Brown’s.

Jones played tough with some of California’s big health insurance companies when the insurance exchanges that are part of Obamacare were set up, leading to fears consumer choices would be too limited to be meaningful. Like the death panels and just about every other tale told about the Affordable Healthcare Act, those concerns were proven wrong in the end.

There’s so much wrong here I’m not even going to start. If you’re willing to believe the underlying premises for his campaign materials, please get in touch with me. I’ve got discount toll passes for the Coronado Bridge I’d like to sell you.

Torlakson is the incumbent and, judging by the list of people and organizations supporting him and opposing him, a really good guy. . This race has become a symbolic struggle between supporters of public education and the faux reform set.

**Be sure to read SDFP’s Jim Miller’s analysis on this most important race.**

Whatever the future holds for her, it’s a safe bet that she will take along her unfailing dedication to the people that she will serve and her common sense approach to handling issues. Her caring manner and strong work ethic will land her firmly on top of whatever hill she decides to climb next.

The only branch library in the (Escondido) system was first closed, then liquidated, and then leased off to his friend and economic advisory committee member Dennis Synder for a charter school; expelling 3 long-term tenants in the process.

Hunter came in first in the polling of Congressional staffers as “Best Party Animal” in the House of Representatives… recently took a break from his busy social schedule to appear on Fox host Greta van Susteren’s program to announce the Border Patrol had told him about “At least ten ISIS fighters have been caught coming across the border in Texas.”

Democrat David Peiser has walked into this lion’s den of reactionary politics to challenge Issa this year. The Encinitas resident is running on a platform focusing on climate change action, job creation, and improving the Affordable Care Act. But mostly he’s running on the fact that he’s not Darrell Issa. There’s a nifty social media campaign running using the hashtags #FireIssa, #HirePeiser.

None of these are competitive. Read the above link if you have questions. Otherwise, vote along party lines.

Voter Resources

The League of Women Voter’s Smart Voterwebsite offers links to just about every major candidate and issue you might want to look into this year.

The State of California Voter Information Guide (that newsprint booklet you got in the mail back in September) is mostly viewable as pdf files, which can be slow to load and hard to read on mobile devices.

Maplight’s Voter’s Edge site gives you information based on your home address about major statewide candidates and propositions–it is especially good if you want to “follow the money.”

Project Vote Smart allows you research any politician and any issue, provided you know what it is you’re looking for. For instance, I typed in “Darrell Issa” and quickly learned that he’s got $3,373,667.67 stashed away for campaigning in a district that’s overwhelmingly Republican. (Why? Because he can.)

Vern May 24, 2019 at 6:27 am on OB Town Council Gets Prepped on RoundUpadditional info: The Diet of the Adult Monarch Butterfly The Monarch butterfly feeds on nectar form various flowers including milkweeds,...

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